Packed Thanksgiving Week

Kase and Brielle arrived last Saturday and the idea was to be together as much as possible.

Sunday night everybody came here to our house to be together and while they were here, Laryn made her grand entrance from school.

 

Wednesday Night was our adult dinner at Applebee's

Not the best picture, but most importantly, NO EMPTY CHAIRS.

 

Thursday morning, Bryant and Reichert came with me to the Whitby Turkey Trot. 

 Bryant won the mile and Reichert came in 7th.

 

We had Thanksgiving at the church. 

Lyle and Libby enjoying rolls

 

James was actually showering after basketball across the street at Dave and Taneil's new place and so all the kids were done by the time he got there.  I waited to eat until he got there and it was the first Thanksgiving I can remember sitting all the way through.  It was nice.

The excitement for the day was actually what Vard has been cooking up for a couple of months.  He was in line for Black Friday at 7am that morning and Haley, Dax, and Laryn all took turns in the line while people had Thanksgiving dinner.  At 6pm he was able to purchase the "big screen TV" that Dad has had his eye on for his Dad's Christmas gift.  The big reveal was an hour or so later. 

 

We gave mom a cell phone.  Yeah!

 

James took Talmage for his first Black Friday experience.  Talmage was giddy about Black Friday and came home with a telescope/microscope combo.

 

Friday, was the first annual Cousin Reunion.

There was a lot of laughing, some socket wrestling, and I think everyone had a good time.

 

Saturday was Brielle's baby shower, followed by Mom's birthday present---8 pedicures---and then pizza at Grandma and Grandpa's followed by good-byes.

 

Family really is where your best friends are found.

James just found out his oldest brother Stephen has stage IV brain cancer.  His heart is hurting and we will be making a trip to Utah at Christmastime.

Nap Nazi

"You will listen to this story and you will take a nap."

  That's pretty much how Sunday afternoon works. 

 

 

Elders Hales

First day in white shirts and ties.

 

Rex and Lyle

 

Somethings are just better in double. 

WATCH OUT VARMITS!

Rex and Lyle in one of their many get-ups.

Polar Vortex

Sounds cold huh?  That's what they are calling this drastic weather change.  Last week we were gleaning apples in T-shirts.  Today, I don't think it got above 40 degrees and the wind chill makes it around 19!  Frigid!  I was so proud of Talmage and Bryant.  We had gone out to help Taneil clean up the Haws place so they can move in.  Grandpa had the boys hauling wood and shoveling pea gravel.  We could see them out the window working in the bitter wind and we were talking about how we needed a picture---but nobody wanted to go out and take it!!  Good job Talmage and Bryant.

Sariah and Hyrum bundled up for the walk to the bus stop. (and my finger---oops.)

Precious Moments

Yesterday while gleaning apples, Talmage says to me, "Mom, I've noticed I think about girls and food a lot.  Is that a problem?"  No, Talmage---that pretty much means your are a teenage boy.  By the way, I take Talmage anywhere there is a job to be done, he's a happy worker.

 

Also yesterday, after playing downstairs with Rex (I have to admit, I wonder what really is going on down there sometimes) Lyle lifted up his shirt and I saw a bunch of scratches.  "Lyle what happened to your tummy?"  Lyle, "shark bites."  Me, "Shark bites?!  Are you telling me there is a shark in our basement?"  Lyle, "Yes."  I left it at that.

 

Tonight, when Rex couldn't have another piece of candy he threw a fit and kicked over the piano bench banging up the front of it.  I was not happy to say the least.  The only sweet part of the deal was that Bryant gave me a very sincere good night hug and apologized that my piano was damaged. 

 

Sariah is afraid to go to 4th grade because today a 4th grader fainted during her musical number during the Veteran's Day assembly.

Halloween

 This was actually "Flash to the Past" day of Spirit Week a couple weeks back.  Bryant had a great afro wig and 70s get up but I didn't get a picture before school and he was done by the time he got home.

Hyrum and Sariah at the school carnival.

On the way to the haunted house, Hyrum noticed his shadow on the wall.  It was awesome!

(He was much braver than I was in the haunted house.  Maybe it was because he knew Talmage was one of the scarers.)

This is the best shot I got on Halloween night.  Should have tried before the very distracting candy.

Headed to Kami's renowned Halloween Party.

True Colors.

Home from Kami's party.  Left as a flapper girl, came home as a pirate.

Lyle and Rex were really wishing they got to go.

Total for the weekend---17 pounds of candy!!!

Pumpkin Patch with Hyrum

Hyrum got to go to the Pumpkin Patch for his kindergarten field trip.  I got to go with him.

 

The white hoodie in the back is my boy.

Field corn "sand box".

 

This was his favorite part.  He jumped off the straw pyramid over and over again.

He was pretty careful picking out his pumpkin.  Finally found the perfect one.

All Is Safetly Gathered In

On October 24th James didn't have school and neither did North Franklin so it was designated as the apple juicing day.  We kept the kids home from school for the tradition (except for Bryant who felt like he couldn't afford to miss school).  Even though there were a lot of helping hands we worked until from 9am until about 4:45---the longest ever.  Over 540 gallons of delicious juice. 

 

Lyle helping

James doing the dirty work.

Lyle and Makaley

 

I really wish I had a picture of Talmage.  He worked hard doing juice and then he helped James and I glean grapes in a drizzle.  We were done with that by about 6:30.  Then he chose to go and get a last load of pumpkins at Perkes' when it was dark and raining harder.  I was so proud of him.  It was a long day!

Filled every jar in the house.

108 quarts of grape juice.

 

Last of the tomato crop.

 

A Classic Memory

There a several instances from my childhood that have become classic memories---those that endure through time and still bring laughter.

 

Hyrum and Jhett the skunk

 

Last night may have been one of those memories for our family.  After we had gone out to watch the Specht kids perform in their school play, Robin Hood, we went down to see if we could glean grapes at Allison's on the way home.  We only had about 45 minutes of daylight left but with James there to help, I knew it would make all the difference.  Of course, the area where we were working was right next to a large muddy area.  No matter how many times James told the kids, "stay out of the mud" I knew it was hopeless.  I saved my breath...experience.

 

By the time we were done with our almost 10 5-gallon buckets, Rex and Lyle were little mud monsters and Bryant wasn't much less.  Everyone was tired, hungry, and cold.  We stripped down Rex and Lyle, as well as taking off everyone's shoes and socks as they got in.  We had all the kids pile into the back seat so we could get all the buckets in.  James was laying sideways in the middle seat, and I drove him back to where we had parked the truck and the trailer with the piano in it.  I kept exclaiming, "what an adventure!" in hopes of keeping break downs at bay.  It worked for the most part.  Now we have a piano in the living room and 10 buckets of grapes in the garage.

  

There are five buckets on the floor in front of James and five in the trunk.  A true feat.  Doesn't Hyrum look like he is having fun?

This was on a night when I had had it with trying to get Rex and Lyle to stay in their beds and be happy about it.  Talmage took them under his wing and there wasn't another peep.  What a great brother.

 

October Fun

It's that long-awaited time of year---payday...I mean pumpkin harvest.

 

Lyle helping load up.

 

Pumpkin harvest also means birthday girl. 

She wanted to take homemade granola bars as her birthday treat on Thursday since there was no school Friday.

 

She asked for art supplies and new bike tire tubes, and chocolate, chocolate cake. 

This is the part of the day that made me most happy:

 "Sariah sometimes you are very complex but I will always love you.  Your brother, Bryant"

He spent a long time with the spirograph and said something like, "she better love this because it's killing my hand."  He then attached it to a bottle of fingernail polish remover which he paid for and tied the pink ribbon all by himself.  Made my day. 

 

That and Hyrum had been saving some bead art that he made at the neighbors so he could have a gift for Sariah.  He came up the stairs with his little gift in a plastic lego box with a big smile.  What a sweetie.  Grandpa, Blaire, and Great Grandma Gibbons joined us for her birthday pizza, cake, and ice cream.  It was a lot of fun.  Then just she and I stayed up late and watched a girl movie.  I love my girl!

 

I'm feeling very protected lately.  This is how they are almost all day everyday.  I'm just glad they don't want to be the same thing!

 

Speaking of these two.  Last Thursday morning they were running around the couch and somehow Rex's foot caught Lyle's nose.  Lyle was crying so hard he passed out and convulsed.  Scary!!

 

James has taken the boys fishing several times over the last week.  This is a fishing picture, can you tell?

These are the Days

Oh if I could stop time---tonight would be one of the nights I'd hold on to.  Such a happy day.  Right where I've always wanted to be.  It was a GORGEOUS October day.  We didn't even need jackets at dusk down at "the beach."  On the way with all the kids in the back of the pick-up we saw a mule deer right off the side of the road.  We stopped to look at it, and it stopped and looked at us.

 

 Sariah

 Bryant

 

James

Talmage

Bryant

 

 Hyrum

Lyle and Rex

 

Rex has an infected bite or something on his leg.  As we try to care for it, Lyle does some pretty sweet things to take of his brother.  Makes my heart happy.  Then Rex told Lyle he could have his cinnamon roll.  Love my little sweethearts.

 

James bought a salmon fishing pole today.  He can no longer give me a hard time about purchasing fabric.